LITMIR.BIZ

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relaxed his shoulders. “I’ve been wrapping it. I just have trouble getting it tight enough without help.”

      “You shouldn’t be doing that. You need to stop that and just take it easy. Ribs take a while to heal.”

      “It’s hard to do that when you have chores to do at home.”

      “Don’t you have a wife or girlfriend who could help with those?”

      “I don’t have either.” He’d never had a wife. Had come close once but it hadn’t worked out.

      “Come in here—” Sal indicated the medical area “—and let me have a look. Get rid of that bandage.” She didn’t wait for him, instead she walked toward the door as if she fully expected him to follow her orders.

      Ross hesitated a moment, then trailed after her. He looked back over his shoulder. He didn’t need any surprise visits from the bosses just when he was being looked over for more injuries. He hated showing any signs of weakness.

      He rarely came to this side of the building. Sal was in the spacious room with a couple of tables and chairs, and a wall of supply cabinets.

      She pushed a stool on wheels toward him. “Take your shirt off, then have a seat.”

      He couldn’t do that! She would see his scars. He didn’t completely take his shirt off around people for any reason. How to get around doing so had become a perfected art for him. The other morning at the hospital it had been a fight, but he’d convinced first the EMT and then the hospital staff it wasn’t necessary to take his shirt off.

      She left him to go to a cabinet across the room. Ross took a moment to appreciate the swing of her hips before he pushed his T-shirt up under his arms.

      When she returned, she had a pair of scissors in her hand.

      “Hey, I don’t think you’ll need those.”

      She smirked. “They’re to cut the bandage if I need to.” She then gave him an odd look but said nothing about his shirt still being on.

      He explained, “It hurts too much to lift my arms.”

      She nodded, seeming to accept his explanation. “Your bandage is around your waist, not your ribs. It wasn’t doing you any good anyway.”

      He gave her a contrite look. “I told you I’d done a poor job of it.”

      “You’re right about that. It doesn’t matter. I’m taking it off. And you’re leaving it off.”

      “Is that an example of the tender care I’ve heard so much about?” Ross watched her closely.

      Her gaze met his. “I save that for people who shouldn’t know better.”

      One of his palms went to the center of his chest. “That was a shot to my ego.”

      She huffed. “That might be so but I’m stating truth. Can you raise your arms out to your sides?”

      He winced but he managed to do as she requested. Sal stepped closer. She smelled of something floral. Was it her shampoo or lotion? Whatever it was, he wanted to lean in and take a deeper breath. Her hands worked on the bandage, removing it; her fingers journeyed across his oversensitive stomach. He looked down. Her dark hair veiled her face. It looked so silky. Would it feel that way if he touched it?

      No! What was going on? He’d never acted this way around any of the other women he worked with. He hardly knew Sal. She was the sister of one of his best friends. Was he overreacting because he’d not had a date in so long? Whatever it was, it had to stop. His sister wanted to set him up on a blind date. Maybe he should agree.

      Sal gathered the bandage in her hand, stepped away from him and dropped the wad into a garbage can.

      Ross couldn’t help but be relieved, but he was disappointed at the same time. He lowered his arms.

      “Okay, arms up again. Show me where you hurt.”

      With his index finger, he pointed to the middle of his left side. Sal bent closer. Seconds later, her fingers ran over his skin. “Does it hurt here?”

      “Yeah.”

      “I can see some yellowing of the skin. You should’ve said something at the hospital.” She straightened.

      Why did she sound so put out? “You’ve already said that. Besides, the chest X-ray was clear.”

      She stepped closer. “I’m going to check you out all the way around.”

      In another place and time, that would have sounded suggestive. And from another person. He and Sal had never had that kind of interaction.

      She ducked under his arm and stepped around to his back and then returned to his front before moving away.

      Ross missed her heat immediately. He didn’t even know her, and he was having this reaction. Why her? Why now?

      “If that isn’t better in a few days, you need to have another X-ray. You also need to take some over-the-counter pain reliever for the next few days.”

      Even in a jumpsuit more suited for a male, Sal looked all female. He must have messed up his mind as well as his side in that fire. These thoughts had to stop here.

      Her quipping “You can pull your shirt down now” brought him back to reality.

      Ross walked toward the door, tucking his shirt in as he went. “Thanks, Sal.”

      “By the way, I think what you did at that house was both brave and stupid.”

       CHAPTER TWO

      ROSS DIDN’T OFTEN get involved in the social side of the fire department but he was making an exception this time for two reasons. One, the annual picnic was a good place to take Olivia and Jared, his niece and nephew, while they were visiting. Two, it would be nice if he was seen by the bosses interacting positively with his fellow firefighters and the first responders at his station. He needed any edge he could get to gain the promotion.

      The event was being held at one of the large parks in town. Not being a family man, Ross had only been to a few of them. There would be the usual fare of barbecue, baked beans, boiled corn and Texas-sized slices of bread. Desserts of every kind and drinks would also be provided. Along with the food were child-friendly games and crafts. Jared and Olivia were excited about the games. He was more interested in the menu; it was some of his favorite food groups.

      Ross looked around the area for a parking space. The weather was clear. It would be a perfect day for the event. He scanned the vehicles to see if any belonged to the members of his station. Kody had said he would be there. Would Sal be with him? Why would he care about that? She’d been on his mind too much lately.

      Ross enjoyed having the kids around. They came for a weekend now and then, but this time they were staying for a little more than a week while his sister and her husband were out of town. Normally, they would have stayed with his parents but they were off on a cruise. He had sort of volunteered and then been asked to take them for ten days. On the days he worked, a friend’s wife had agreed to watch them.

      He pulled his truck into a spot in the already half-full parking lot teeming with people. Seconds later, Jared and Olivia were climbing out, their eyes bright with excitement.

      “Yay, there’s face painting. I want to go over there.” Olivia pointed to a tent not far away.

      “I want to go ride the pony,” Jared said over his sister.

      Ross raised his voice above it all. “Circle up here. We need to have a couple of ground rules. Number one, we stay together, and number two, we stay together. If I lose you kids, your mother and father will be mad at me.” He grinned at them. “Got it?”

      “Got it!” they chimed in.

      “Okay.

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